In the book, Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters, Michael Bungay Stanier shares his inspiration and techniques to help us do more work that matters.

These are some of my favorite takeaways from reading the book.

In Part 6 of the book, Michael discusses how to implement plans and ensure we do what we want to do.

He recommends we take the following steps:

Map 12 What will you do?

1. Start by answering the question, “What’s the easiest thing to do?” Then, pick the most straightforward idea we have had and write them down.
2. Next, answer, “What would have the most impact?” Then, write down what would make the most difference as part of our Great Work Project.
3. Now focus on, “What do you want to do?” This is the idea we are most drawn to and most excited by.
4. Finally, we ask ourselves, “What will you do?” This is the action we are ready to commit to doing.

Map 13 What Support Do You Need?

1. Sometimes we need extra help and support to take on our Great Work project. Michael suggests that there are three places to look for help.
2. People who love us: They will offer cheers, hugs, and unconditional support. Do not underestimate how important and sustaining these things are.
3. People with skills: These are people who can provide things, do things, fix things, combine things, give advice, and in general, make things happen.
4. People with influence: They can open doors, grease rails, make introductions, and help us connect with people whose help we need.

Map 14 What’s the Next Step?

• Michael offers two secrets to doing what we want to do. For one thing, we decide on, then taking the next step is a powerful way to get moving. In addition, we keep our Great Work project moving forward by building on accountability.
• First, we write down what we will do. Then, make it clear and specific.
• Second, we write down when we will complete it. Again, be specific by setting a date.
• Next, we define the very first step that needs to be taken.
• Finally, we decide whether we need support to be accountable to ourselves. We must always ask ourselves these five accountability questions:
  1. What will we do?
  1. By when?
  1. What does success or completion look like?
  1. How will we let our accountability buddy know we have finished?
  1. What are the consequences of not doing this?

In the book, Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters, Michael Bungay Stanier shares his inspiration and techniques to help us do more work that matters.

These are some of my favorite takeaways from reading the book.

In Part 5 of the book, Michael discusses potential approaches we can use to develop our Great Work Projects.

He recommends we take the following steps:

Map 9 What’s Possible?

1. Shift gear mentally to a focused mindset of idea gathering. It is OK to have improbable, impossible, or irresponsible ideas. We are still deciding what to do; it is about expanding our choices.
2. Give ourselves a time limit to have ideas. It is easy to start small, say five minutes.
3. Start at the top of the map with “What ideas do you already have?”
4. Scan the remaining questions and pick one that strikes our fancy.
5. Pick a second question and do the same. Pick another question after this question.
6. Review the ideas we have written down.

Map 10 What’s the Right Ending?

1. Bring to mind our Great Work Project. We are going to imagine how it is going to play out. Write down three variants of the story on the map.
2. The first story is where things work out perfectly for us. Tell the story in as much detail as we can imagine step-by-step how we arrive at the best possible outcome.
3. Next, tell a different story about the same challenge when everything goes wrong.
4. The final version is in the middle. It is neither great nor terrible – it is just a mediocre experience.
5. Review the stories and find new elements we need to consider. We might have fears and expectations that we may not have articulated. We also might have questions for which we may need to find answers.

In the book, Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters, Michael Bungay Stanier shares his inspiration and techniques to help us do more work that matters.

These are some of my favorite takeaways from reading the book.

Map 8 What’s the Best Choice?

In this chapter, Michael talks about how we can confidently choose our Great Work Project.

He recommends we take the following steps:

From the homework we have done in the previous steps, pick between three and five possibilities for our Great Work Project.

Develop a range of criteria by which to judge these possible ideas. Some possible criteria can include:

• It is easy to do.
• It would have the most significant impact on what I am trying to do.
• I want to do it.
• It excites me.
• It is fun to do.
• It is the best use of my skills.
• It is the most efficient use of resources.
• It is financially feasible.

Winnow the criteria list by using the three to five most critical criteria.

Measure each Great Work Project option against the criteria. Please give it a score of 1 to 10 for each criterion.

We can give our criteria different weights to add more flexibility to the process.

Finally, add the numbers and determine which idea scored the highest. Does this choice feel like the right one?

In summary, our goal is not to find the perfect place to start, as it might paralyze us. Our initial goal is to take our best guess and choose something that will enable us to say the following:

“This will do for the time being. This has potential. This is a good place to start.”

In the book, Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters, Michael Bungay Stanier shares his inspiration and techniques to help us do more work that matters.

These are some of my favorite takeaways from reading the book.

Map 7 What’s Required

In this chapter, Michael talks about how we can balance the Great Work we would like to do and other competing forces that require our time and attention. Those competing forces usually come from the organizations where we work and have agendas and priorities outside our control.

He recommends we take the following steps:

Create a map with four quadrants. Label the X-axis with “They don’t care” on the left and “They care” on the right. Label the Y-axis with “I care” at the top and “I don’t care” at the bottom.

Next, we jot down all the work we do on a daily or weekly basis on a piece of paper. The more complete and specific we can be, the more useful this map will be. Figure out where our time goes.

Once we have a complete or comprehensive list, we can start plotting those tasks in the four boxes on the map.

In the top-right box, map all the work our organization wants us to do that is also meaningful. This is a sweet spot. Spend time here and seek out more work to do in this quadrant.

In the bottom-left box, list the work we do not care about and the organization does not either. We need to stop doing this work because they are pointless. If we must do this work, we must find a way to deliver the result at a minimally acceptable level with the least amount of time invested.

On the bottom-right corner, list the work we do not have a passion for but our organization expects it to be done. In the top-left box, put down the work we would like to do more but the organization does not value it. Working in these two quadrants requires us to exercise professional judgment and appropriate tactics.

In the book, Do More Great Work.: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters, Michael Bungay Stanier shares his inspiration and techniques to help us do more work that matters.

These are some of my favorite takeaways from reading the book.

Map 6 What’s Broken

In this chapter, Michael talks about how we can use some pain points in our lives to inspire Great Work.

He recommends we take the following steps:

Take a look at the map with the concentric circles in the book. Start in the inner circle and think about what we would like to change the various elements within our lives.

Work through the circles and write down at least two things we would like to change within each domain.

Go back to the list and circle the five possible candidates for Great Work that we are most drawn to.

Somewhere in the list will likely be some possibilities for Great Work – a challenge with the appropriate scale for us.

Also, pay attention to the little things that get in our way but we have chosen to put up with. Either we choose to handle them as they come, or we feel that we cannot be bothered to change those things right now.

Over time, we stop noticing some of those little annoyances. Reducing such accepted irritants one by one is a beautiful way to chip away at the things obscuring our Great Work.